I felt I'd earned the Good Housekeeping Seal when I designed an oval-shaped spaghetti pot, because spaghetti is long.

I do know what my first meal in the next world would be... Spaghetti Aglio e Olio, heavy on everything.

Good food and a warm kitchen are what makes a house a home. I always tried to make my home like my mother's, because Mom was magnificent at stretching a buck when it came to decorating and food. Like a true Italian, she valued beautification in every area of her life, and I try to do the same.

This funding from the National Endowment for the Arts has been like the Good Housekeeping seal of approval.

Yum-O! I say this if something is so good that 'yum' just isn't enough of an exclamation. The accent is on the 'O' as in, 'Oh! That is so good!'

EVOO is extra-virgin olive oil. I first coined 'EVOO' on my cooking show because saying 'extra virgin olive oil' over and over was wordy, and I'm an impatient girl - that's why I make 30-minute meals!